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Now on BBC News, it's time for Our World. | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
BIRDSONG. The lush tropical forests of Java. The civilisation encroaches | :00:07. | :00:26. | |
on -- as civilisation encroaches, only pockets remain. And they are | :00:27. | :00:29. | |
falling silent. Songbirds are disappearing from the wild. Trapped | :00:30. | :00:38. | |
from the forest, sold as singing pets and status symbols. I am | :00:39. | :00:43. | |
Victoria Gill and I am in Jakarta that to investigate the in social | :00:44. | :00:48. | |
will commence for songbirds that are now driving an extinction crisis. | :00:49. | :00:52. | |
People always want to buy songbirds? We really are firefighting, we are | :00:53. | :01:04. | |
saving the last of the last. This bird may be the only one of its kind | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
left on the planet. This bird in here could be the last of its kind? | :01:09. | :01:11. | |
Yes. Java, the largest and most crowded | :01:12. | :01:30. | |
island in Indonesia. Home to more than 140 million people. Cities, | :01:31. | :01:41. | |
towns and villages seemed to squeeze into every available space. There is | :01:42. | :01:49. | |
very little pristine forest left here, but just a few square, this | :01:50. | :01:53. | |
can be home to hundreds of animals and birds. Some are found only on | :01:54. | :02:01. | |
this island. And some are critically endangered. But it is many of Java's | :02:02. | :02:11. | |
songbirds that have now slipped under the conservation radar to the | :02:12. | :02:17. | |
very brink of extinction. A recent global conservation review revealed | :02:18. | :02:23. | |
that 19 species are now trapped in such high numbers that they are in | :02:24. | :02:31. | |
danger of going out -- dying out. Human activity is driving species | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
towards extinction around the world. But here, where bustling megacities | :02:37. | :02:40. | |
reach into tropical rainforest, it is a microcosm of that global | :02:41. | :02:49. | |
crisis. So how has the trade in trapped songbirds reached such a | :02:50. | :02:54. | |
tipping point? And can anything be done to save them? This is our | :02:55. | :03:01. | |
guide, on the steep slopes of the mountain. He knows this forest | :03:02. | :03:05. | |
inside out, it is where he made his living hunting and trapping. This is | :03:06. | :03:14. | |
just showing me how you make a bird trap out of just sticks from the | :03:15. | :03:18. | |
trees around you and a piece of string. | :03:19. | :03:36. | |
What was to trapping four, where would those birds go? | :03:37. | :03:52. | |
He is no longer in the bird trapping business, he has been able to | :03:53. | :03:59. | |
convert this knowledge of the forest into conservation work. But many | :04:00. | :04:04. | |
people still take birds from here. Networks of travellers operate | :04:05. | :04:07. | |
across this country, clearing the forests of birds. -- trappers. We | :04:08. | :04:14. | |
are surrounded by trees. It looks a very good bird habitat, but actually | :04:15. | :04:21. | |
there is very little song. It is strangely quiet here. But there is | :04:22. | :04:30. | |
one place you are guaranteed to find thousands of songbirds. BIRDSONG. | :04:31. | :04:41. | |
This is Pramuka Market, it is the largest wildlife market in Asia, | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
possibly the world. And it is crammed with caged birds. There can | :04:46. | :04:53. | |
be more than 16,000 birds the sale here in a single day, more than 200 | :04:54. | :04:59. | |
different species. There are three markets like this just in Jakarta, | :05:00. | :05:05. | |
is that gives you the idea of the scale of this market. Just auditory, | :05:06. | :05:15. | |
the senses, it is incredible. It is a very noisy place, and it is quite | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
unpleasant, the smell is quite acrid and overwhelming. For all it might | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
seem to me like a strange, packed place with a strong smell, this is a | :05:26. | :05:29. | |
centre of commerce and community here in Jakarta. In a growing | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
economy, more and more people are spending their disposable income on | :05:35. | :05:38. | |
the status symbol that is a valuable feathered pet. | :05:39. | :05:52. | |
That is between about $20 and several thousand US dollars for a | :05:53. | :06:11. | |
songbird. While songbirds fetched very high prices, many cost less | :06:12. | :06:18. | |
than a dollar. They are more expensive to feed them they are to | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
buy. People take dozens at a time, they are treated like disposable | :06:25. | :06:25. | |
objects. This one here, this one, it lives up | :06:26. | :06:41. | |
in the mountains of Sumatra. Andrew Allen has been working in bird | :06:42. | :06:45. | |
conservation to more than three decades. He and his colleagues from | :06:46. | :06:51. | |
zoos and wildlife conservation organisations around the world visit | :06:52. | :06:55. | |
the market as those they can to study it. They are looking for | :06:56. | :06:58. | |
protected birds being sold illegally, but the market can also | :06:59. | :07:02. | |
show them which species are most at risk, what is most popular or an | :07:03. | :07:05. | |
increase in price that might suggest a bird is becoming more rare. That | :07:06. | :07:12. | |
bird there is one of the birds of extreme concern for us, it has been | :07:13. | :07:19. | |
wiped out across all of this range, it is extinct in Java, it has been | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
listed to endangered and the next at May be critically endangered. | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
Researchers monitoring the trade found that most birds here are | :07:30. | :07:32. | |
caught from the wild. Protected species are sold in markets. | :07:33. | :07:40. | |
So why do so many people here want to own songbirds? | :07:41. | :07:51. | |
Driving around you certainly see evidence of the demand. Bird cages | :07:52. | :07:57. | |
hang outside shops and houses. But this goes well beyond the desire for | :07:58. | :08:06. | |
a companion in a cage. How many do you have in your house? You lose | :08:07. | :08:19. | |
count? Maybe five. We have come to visit Heri, a leader of the bird | :08:20. | :08:26. | |
breeding Association PBI. He also organises events where competitors | :08:27. | :08:29. | |
pick their singing birds against each other. Birdsong mackerel is | :08:30. | :08:34. | |
what is the prize money? The prize is 5 million. Until maybe 1 billion. | :08:35. | :08:45. | |
1 billion rupiah? 100,000 US dollars for the main prize. Wow. One of your | :08:46. | :08:52. | |
birds is five times national champion? National champion. | :08:53. | :09:02. | |
Valuable bird! (LAUGHS). While the big money is saved to the national | :09:03. | :09:06. | |
championships, you can find smaller events across the country, every | :09:07. | :09:16. | |
single weekend. We have heard a lot about bird singing competitions, and | :09:17. | :09:19. | |
the accession with this country, and we have managed to arrange to go to | :09:20. | :09:25. | |
one, about two hours from here, which I think in this traffic means | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
about three miles away, if we ever make it. | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
The bird breeders Association have given me a quote, and it is the | :09:37. | :09:53. | |
official dress, so I have to wear a during the competition. I am a guest | :09:54. | :09:57. | |
judge today, which should be interesting. | :09:58. | :10:04. | |
Apparently the judges have to make a decision based on the bird's tone, | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
volume and performance. See how that goes in that cacophony of birdsong | :10:12. | :10:19. | |
that is about to commence. A first timer like me, this is a strange | :10:20. | :10:22. | |
thing to witness. Let alone to judge. When caged male birds look | :10:23. | :10:27. | |
around and see one another, they instinctively compete. Singing to | :10:28. | :10:32. | |
claim their territory. The judges at signal their choice of winner with a | :10:33. | :10:34. | |
flag. This is serious business. Tony is an Intel -- influential | :10:35. | :10:51. | |
friend of the bird readers Association. A wealthy zoo owner who | :10:52. | :10:54. | |
is well-known in bird breeding circles. He wants to help transform | :10:55. | :10:56. | |
the bird trade. And a bird? Right. So to be a true | :10:57. | :11:18. | |
man, you need a house, a wife, horses, a weapon, and the bird. Then | :11:19. | :11:25. | |
you are a real Javanese. Then you are a real Javanese man, OK. | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
Congratulations! All the birds in this competition are bred in | :11:32. | :11:35. | |
captivity. This association has banned wild caught birds from its | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
events. There is a small breeding centre at this venue. Five times a | :11:40. | :11:47. | |
day? Yes, five times a day. Since I am a guest judge, Tony arranges for | :11:48. | :11:51. | |
me to have a tour. Apparently I can feed one of the baby lovebirds. Is | :11:52. | :11:59. | |
that tasty? All the birds here are all captive bred. Yeah. That is what | :12:00. | :12:01. | |
you encourage? Right, right. Because if you breed | :12:02. | :12:14. | |
them in captivity for competition, then you can save the birds in the | :12:15. | :12:26. | |
wild? A good parent! There is no doubt that everyone he loved | :12:27. | :12:33. | |
songbirds. -- everyone here loves. The prizewinners are an impeccable | :12:34. | :12:37. | |
condition and undoubtedly give an impressive performance. Thank you, | :12:38. | :12:41. | |
thank you. But does this love of birds, the desire so many people | :12:42. | :12:45. | |
have to own one, mean that the future for the rarest, most | :12:46. | :13:02. | |
beautiful singers is inside a cage? The critically endangered Javan | :13:03. | :13:10. | |
part. -- green magpie. Perfectly camouflaged against tropical | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
vegetation. But these birds have spent their lives in captivity. Up | :13:15. | :13:23. | |
in the rural hills of west Java is a conservation breeding centre. While | :13:24. | :13:29. | |
the mountain forests used to be home to thousands of these birds, almost | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
all of the tiny remaining population is now housed here. For Andrew Allen | :13:34. | :13:41. | |
this place is the focal point of his work on the songbird crisis. -- | :13:42. | :13:46. | |
Owen. This one is a young Javan pie that is bred here. -- pie. -- green | :13:47. | :13:59. | |
magpie. This is one of the rarest birds on the planet? How many are | :14:00. | :14:04. | |
left in the wild? There are 60 in the breeding programme, so 60 on the | :14:05. | :14:08. | |
planet, that we know of, and maybe a handful in the wild. That makes this | :14:09. | :14:12. | |
into the unlikely international hub proconservation mission. -- this | :14:13. | :14:21. | |
centre. We have three magpies to examine. One needs shipping, all | :14:22. | :14:29. | |
three of them sexing. This team, made up of white light that sender | :14:30. | :14:32. | |
zoologists, is from Chester zoo in the UK. This one is aged 970... A | :14:33. | :14:38. | |
juvenile bird has been caught a vital health check. He could be one | :14:39. | :14:45. | |
60th of the entire world population. So the Chester that coaches the | :14:46. | :14:51. | |
keepers in carrying out thorough assessments. These can be | :14:52. | :14:56. | |
surprisingly risky. That is a privilege, it's a bit it and buy a | :14:57. | :15:00. | |
critically endangered species. I'm not going anywhere near it with my | :15:01. | :15:08. | |
fingers. Every bird has a tiny identification microchip implanted | :15:09. | :15:13. | |
under its skin. Blood samples will also reveal which males and females | :15:14. | :15:17. | |
are most genetically compatible. Every future chick is precious. | :15:18. | :15:27. | |
Biological matchmaking is vital. For some, though, there might not even | :15:28. | :15:31. | |
be the chance of reading in captivity. What is in here? In here | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
we have a laughing thrush which is only found on the island of Java. | :15:37. | :15:41. | |
And this particular bird is a subspecies that is only found on one | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
mountain. This bird may be the only one of its kind left on the planet. | :15:46. | :15:50. | |
This bird in here could be the last of this kind of word? Yeah. We know | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
of no others. Of this species, the subspecies. Is it already too late | :15:55. | :15:59. | |
for this bird, then? We hope not. We have plans to carry out surveys on | :16:00. | :16:04. | |
the mountain to see if we can find more, and if we can come it will be | :16:05. | :16:08. | |
an enormous relief. We really don't know at this stage. This may be the | :16:09. | :16:12. | |
last word. So what is this bird called? This bird is called Azah, | :16:13. | :16:17. | |
which in Indonesian means "The lonely one". With its bars, locks | :16:18. | :16:26. | |
and fences, the centre almost looks like a prison. But security for all | :16:27. | :16:29. | |
of the crippled the endangered species here is a priority. -- | :16:30. | :16:36. | |
critically endangered. All the birds here are incredibly valuable. So we | :16:37. | :16:40. | |
have had an experience of the birds being stolen here in the past, | :16:41. | :16:46. | |
during Ramadan in 2014. 150 140 birds were stolen. They just came | :16:47. | :16:53. | |
in, took all the birds in one night. They took a lot of those, which is | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
really impacted our breeding programme, because a lot of the best | :16:58. | :17:00. | |
couples were in these blocks that were targeted. That must have an | :17:01. | :17:04. | |
heartbreaking, to lose so many birds. Yes, the staff remember it is | :17:05. | :17:09. | |
this awful time, coming in work finding the cages ripped open. If | :17:10. | :17:14. | |
they got stolen again, that is probably it. It is difficult to | :17:15. | :17:21. | |
comprehend that a break-in at this one remote centre could mean the | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
extinction of a species. These birds, the rarest of the row, will | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
remain here under lock and key. But is there anywhere left in Java where | :17:33. | :17:45. | |
they can fly freely and safely? A stone 's throw from the chaos of the | :17:46. | :17:49. | |
city is the safari park. This is a jungle fairgrounds, an eclectic home | :17:50. | :17:54. | |
to creatures from all over the world. With its roots in the circus, | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
it boasts animal shows and close encounters which have wrought | :18:00. | :18:01. | |
criticism from animal rights campaigners. -- brought criticism. | :18:02. | :18:12. | |
But there is a particular focus here on rural birds, and that is driven | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
by its owner. Amazing. This is the surroundings of our park. 100 | :18:18. | :18:22. | |
hectares of land. So this is your land? Yes. After bringing me into | :18:23. | :18:26. | |
the world of the singing competitions, Tony shows me around | :18:27. | :18:34. | |
his park. He is using profits from the spot and attraction to fund an | :18:35. | :18:37. | |
emergency response to his country's songbird conservation crisis. | :18:38. | :18:51. | |
Instead of battling the bird trade, Tony is taking a market family | :18:52. | :19:00. | |
approach. -- market friendly. He is working with bird owners and | :19:01. | :19:03. | |
persuading them to lend their rare birds to special breeding | :19:04. | :19:06. | |
programmes. The aim is to use these pets to breed of songbirds to meet | :19:07. | :19:08. | |
the high demand. Flooding the market with the captive | :19:09. | :19:32. | |
bred words actually encouraging their trade, might seem unorthodox. | :19:33. | :19:38. | |
But he says it is working. And he is now going one step further. Hidden | :19:39. | :19:45. | |
away from selfie snapping visitors is a very special bird reading | :19:46. | :19:53. | |
programme. -- bird breeding. This is the aviary? How many on here? 11. | :19:54. | :20:03. | |
Black winged mynahs, and other Indonesian songbird teetering on the | :20:04. | :20:06. | |
brink of extension. Just 50 are estimated to remain in the wild. | :20:07. | :20:11. | |
These birds were born and bred here. Now they are being set free. | :20:12. | :20:19. | |
Oh, wow. So far, 15 birds have been released into what is a uniquely | :20:20. | :20:30. | |
save forest haven. We are still within the safari park, not far from | :20:31. | :20:34. | |
where the black winged mynahs have been released from the aviary. One | :20:35. | :20:39. | |
of them has actually made a nest, and apparently there are some chicks | :20:40. | :20:43. | |
in there. So it is making a small come back here at the safari park. | :20:44. | :20:49. | |
It is a snapshot of success, of what these forests should look and sound | :20:50. | :21:00. | |
like. But if wild songbirds are going to return to more than just | :21:01. | :21:04. | |
small patches of private land, the widescale shopping has to stop. So | :21:05. | :21:10. | |
is that realistic, and can it happen in time? | :21:11. | :21:23. | |
In the village just minutes from the wildlife centre, there are signs | :21:24. | :21:31. | |
that a real shift is under way. This is the element fiscal marching band. | :21:32. | :21:37. | |
-- elementary school marching band. They are practising for a big | :21:38. | :21:42. | |
parade. This celebration of Indonesia's independence, learning | :21:43. | :21:47. | |
about multicultural history, is part of school life. But today the | :21:48. | :21:50. | |
children are having a lesson that is brand-new to the curriculum. Lessons | :21:51. | :22:01. | |
about the environment for these children, learning about the | :22:02. | :22:04. | |
wildlife that is, or should be, on their doorstep, is not just a | :22:05. | :22:08. | |
novelty. Conservationists say it is vital. | :22:09. | :22:27. | |
This is absolutely a crisis. But something we have seen why we have | :22:28. | :22:34. | |
been here is a passion for songbirds, in some cases an | :22:35. | :22:39. | |
obsession with songbirds. And if that can be channelled, especially | :22:40. | :22:42. | |
with the Next Generation, into admiring them in protecting them in | :22:43. | :22:47. | |
the wild, then maybe some of these very threatened birds do have a | :22:48. | :22:53. | |
future here. If we do nothing these species are all going to go extinct | :22:54. | :22:57. | |
within the next decade, no doubt about that. We are doing everything | :22:58. | :23:02. | |
we possibly can to ensure that these birds are back in the wild, with | :23:03. | :23:06. | |
safe and sustainable populations, for future generations. | :23:07. | :23:23. | |
Today's weather is brought to you courtesy of Storm Brian. | :23:24. | :23:27. |